Podcasts I like (and you might too)

May 11, 2016RecommendationSean KernanComment

I like podcasts so much, I started one. I have spent many hours listening to them over the last 3 or 4 years. I find myself rarely listening to the radio anymore because podcasts give me customized educational and entertaining content available on-demand (mostly), without commercials.

The independent financial advisor toolbox: What I find useful in my practice

May 9, 2016MiscellaneousSean Kernan1 Comment

This is a general transcript of a recent podcast episode (listen by clicking here) where I breakdown a few tools that I find useful as an independent financial advisor. There are a lot of options out there and the freedom to find what fits your practice best is another great benefit of being independent.

A great read from Josh Brown of TheReformedBroker.com on going independent

April 21, 2016MiscellaneousSean Kernan1 Comment

This link is to a great post from last fall by Josh Brown---he of Twitter and CNBC fame. I can't add too much to the content itself, so I will just say---read it!

Below is the summary I pulled from the end of the article where Brown contrasts what should cause advisors to go independent....and what should not. It is as much about attitudes and beliefs as it is about money.

Why there is no reason to go indpendent all by yourself -- but what is an "OSJ?"

April 21, 2016MiscellaneousSean KernanComment

OSJ - you may have heard or seen this acronym in learning about the independent advisor channel. It stands for Office of Supervisory Jurisdiction. Until you are familiar with exactly what that means, just substitute "branch" or "network" when you see "OSJ."

Why I'd rather get paid one way instead of five

April 19, 2016MiscellaneousSean KernanComment

One of my favorite inside jokes about a firm I used to work for is that they would tell us that "we pay you FIVE ways!" And it was (and I think, still is) true that there were multiple components of the total compensation....

How $1 billion-dollar wirehouse teams should go independent

April 13, 2016TransitionsSean KernanComment

A few weeks ago, I interviewed Matt Sonnen, founder of PFI Advisors, a consulting firm that assists large advisor teams (most over a billion in revenue) breakaway from wirehouse firms and go independent. PFI released it's first white paper this week that discusses using a pure consulting approach versus giving up equity in your firm or some sort of revenue-sharing model.

Trust, but verify.....looking into one firm's client retention claim

March 23, 2016MiscellaneousSean Kernan3 Comments

I wanted to share my thoughts on the very popular article that stated Merrill Lynch retains 40%-50% of client assets after an advisor leaves the firm. I think it applies to many advisors thinking about leaving a wirehouse for independence.

First of all, trust, but verify....That phrase, popularized by President Ronald Reagan, is very applicable when determining....

How much will health insurance cost when I'm an independent financial advisor?

November 23, 2015TransitionsSean Kernan2 Comments

Today, I'd like to talk about a topic that is very important, expensive, and emotional for many people and has a big impact on some of the discussions that a financial advisor might have around going independent. That topic is health insurance.

Can I maintain an independent practice on only $100,000 of revenue?

November 16, 2015TransitionsSean Kernan3 Comments

Some people ask me: what's the minimum amount of production I need to do to set up an independent business? I think that is a great question because there's a lot of misinformation about what that number really is. This article explains...

VIDEO: Independence does not mean isolated

October 28, 2015MiscellaneousSean KernanComment

Some might think going independent means they won't have the opportunity to bounce ideas and thoughts off other financial advisors. Just because you aren't down the hall anymore doesn't mean you don't have the opportunity to network with other financial advisors...

The HTGI Podcast

About Me

I help financial advisors who are currently employees explore information about independent business models. This site allows you to do so on your own time, in your own space, with unquestioned privacy. I am trying to build a resource that I would have loved to find when I was educating myself during the 7 years before establishing my practice.